Gorillaz React
by RosaViva
Summary: Inspired by this video from FBE: /watch?v GUvbHkfhzYs I wondered, how would Gorillaz themselves react to it? Rated T for language and raunchy banter.


"So uh, correct me if I'm wrong. You've gathered all of us here, not to discuss promotions, not to discuss the website, but to film us watching... A sodding Youtube video?"

Murdoc had a perplexed look on his face mixed with slight annoyance. He wasn't quite caught up on all these new trends on Facetube or Snaptagram, or whatever those bloody websites were called. And frankly, he had no desire to be.

Noodle and 2D were more turned into social media, but Noodle was always busy focusing on their music, being the passionate worker she is, and 2D was... Well, he was 2D. Could the job really be left in capable hands with him? This was precisely why Gorillaz hired a manager for their media. Someone who was young and knew what they were doing. The same manager that they'd recently hired for their Youtube channel had called the four of them into the living room of their new HQ: the Spirit House, all sat in a row on the couch, with Youtube up on the TV and the cameras ready.

"Yeah, I don' get this. Wot's all this about? We answering live fan questions or sumthin?" 2D asked, exchanging a few confused looks with the other band members.

"Well no. It's not live and it isn't exactly a Q&A. I know it sounds strange, but keep in mind that this could be considered a type of promotion in of itself." The young manager explained. "Have the four of you by chance heard of the Youtube channel TheFineBros?"

The band exchanged a few confused glances. None of them could say they have.

"Nope." Russel said flatly.

"Can't say I have, no." Noodle said.

"I 'ave no idea what your talkin' about." 2D said bluntly.

"Do you really think I care to know about these silly little "channels", or whatever they are? What the hell does this have to do with us?" Murdoc said irritably.

The manager was losing them. It was better to just get straight to the point. "Uh, well okay. So this channel hosts a series of videos where they have different people of different age groups react and discuss various videos shown to them with topics to do with popular culture, current events, music and movies of the like. Recently, they did a video with some people reacting to a few of your music videos, and discussing them."

The band now started to gain interest, except for Murdoc of course. Bored as hell and lighting up yet another cig.

"It's a video with young people who may have grown up with your music. It's called "College Kids React to Gorillaz"."

Murdoc suddenly looked up. "Wait, wait, wait, wait. College kids?" His tune had miraculously changed to something far more enthusiastic. "By "college" kids, this video wouldn't by chance happen to include any college-age gir-"

Before Murdoc could even finish his sentence, 2D started laughing and Noodle was giggling. Russel just groaned, burying his bald head in his palm.

"Oh for _god's sake,_ Murdoc. Can you not go ten minutes without thinking with your wrinkly old nether regions?" Russel sighed in annoyance. Always the more mature and paternal one of the group.

Murdoc leaned over with a sleazy smile. "Oh, sure Russ. I remember that of all things, you don't seem to possess a pulse. Heheheh."

"Hey, I have a pulse just like anybody else. I just don't go off mindlessly chasing tail like an animal. I don't have delusions of someone half my damn age having any interest in me. Unlike you, ya damn unwashed geriatric." Murdoc sneered at the last remark.

"Yeah Mudz, ya dirty ol' geezer." 2D snickered.

Russel quickly turned to face 2D. "Oh Shut up, 'D. You're just as bad and you know it. Don't try to pretend you're any better. I'm the one who does the laundry 'round here and unfortunately I've come across your stash, and I've seen those stains on your sheets!" Murdoc and Noodle sputtered with laughter while 2D began to blush. Murdoc even shed a tear, he was laughing so hard. Quite embarrassed, the manager tried to interrupt the raunchy banter, but Russel kept going, now with a grin.

"Even now you still take multiple girls back to your bed, many half your age. And judging by your masturbatory material, you into some nasty shit, man. You're no better than Murdoc, you're just more covert about it."

2D was still red in the face, but managed to laugh along. "Ay, I'm not the one to blame there, mate. It's the birds over the years that introduced me to all that kinky shit. The girls love it, I just went along with it and heh, it ain't that nasty. Ya really don't know what your missing." He said with a cocked eyebrow and a cheeky grin. 2D may have been a sweetheart, but he wasn't a chaste guy by a long shot.

Russel scoffed. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say, you skinny pervert."

The manager stood there awkwardly. They raised an eyebrow at Noodle. "How have you dealt with this for so long?"

Noodle smiled and shrugged. "Aw, there's little that shocks me. I'm not precious, I can handle it." She then smirked devilishly, and winked. "Besides, I happen to get mine quite aplenty these days."

Murdoc and 2D whooped and cheered for her, like they were a bunch of lads down at the pub, proud of their mate getting laid for the first time. Russel however, turned away and pretended desperately not to hear what she said. She may be 27, but Noodle was always going to be his baby girl after all.

This had gone off the rails enough. Although it wasn't unusual for this lot. Tangents were an everyday norm for Gorillaz.

" _Ahem._ Back on track- Today, the four of you are going to react to their video of _them_ reacting to _you_."

"Oh? so it's a reaction of a reaction? Interesting." Russel said.

"Aw yeah, this is what they call a paradox, right?" 2D asked without thinking.

"Heh, not quite, 2D." Noodle said with a smile.

"Ughhh. _No_ , dullard. A paradox is a contradiction." Murdoc groaned, without much patience for the singer's ignorance.

"Really? Oh yeah..." 2D said, spacing out a bit.

Murdoc looked to the young manager. "Okay, alright, I'm with ya, kid. Let's just this done, yeah?"

"Okay guys." The thumbs up was given and the video started.

* * *

The video had a cold opening, the first shot with a pretty blonde girl watching the last few seconds of the video for 'Feel Good Inc'.

 ** _"That song's so good. I wanna listen to it on my way home now."_** She commented.

"Well, well. I think we are off to a grrreat start, Haheheh." Murdoc said loudly, with a lecherous grin and that gravely laugh of his. The others groaned.

"Shh! Mudz, come on man." Russel hushed him.

 ** _"So today we're going to show you a medley of music from a popular band, starting with their new song and then going into their bigger hits"._**

The video shown within the video was the start of Saturnz Barz, showcasing each of the young adult's reactions.

 _ **"What is this?"**_

 ** _"Oh yeah, It's Gorillaz!"_**

 ** _"This is Gorillaz! Ohhh, I'm so excited!"_**

"Hehe, I like that guy's enthusiasm!" Noodle said.

 ** _"I'm so excited for their comeback."_** One of the girls said.

"Well get excited honey, because we are BACK!" Murdoc proclaimed.

 ** _"I wanna be part of the Gorillaz!"_** A dude with a yellow beanie said, clearly a fan.

2D laughed nervously. "Well, heheh, I'd be careful what you wish for there, mate. Otherwise you'll end up in a series of unfortunate events, and might find yourself held prisoner by a slimy green bass player, several leagues under the _bloody sea_!" 2D shot a glare at Murdoc.

"Oh come on, 2D. Let it go. It's been years." Murdoc waved him off.

2D muttered what sounded like: " _Fuckin' wanker._ " under his breath.

The music video was now into Popcaan's verse. Some of the kids seemed taken aback by the surreal visuals.

 _ **"I was digging the animation until it got really trippy."** _

"They seem unfamiliar with our aesthetic." Noodle commented.

"Haha. If only you knew mate." Murdoc chuckled.

 ** _"This is different from what they usually do."_**

 ** _"This is so different and creative."_**

 ** _"The pizza's talking. That's so cool!"_**

"See Murdoc? I told you young people still appreciate artistry." Noodle said to Murdoc.

"Yeah well, They may have picked out an alright bunch." Murdoc shrugged.

 _ **"How do they come up with these things?"** _ A brunette with red lipstick asked.

"Personal experiences, love. If not, then a cocktail of LSD and Vodka and three days lack of sleep." Murdoc stated.

"Or, a creative imagination." Russel spoke up.

Murdoc snorted. "Imagination. Pfft, yeah, that what is."

 ** _"This is like the weirdest music video I've ever seen!"_** The blonde girl said.

"The _weirdest_ you've ever seen, love?" 2D laughed. "You ain't seen much of the 90's then. Bjork, Marilyn Manson, Nine Inch Nails. Their shit was proper crazy!"

"To be fair, she doesn't look like your average Manson or Nine Inch Nails listener, does she?" Murdoc pointed out.

"Pretty much." 2D chuckled.

 _ **"It's very them, but it's kinda creeping me out."** _ Another of the girls said.

"It was damn creepy that day when we shot it, that's for sure." Russel shivered at the memories of that possessed bed and eldritch-like creature messing with him.

 ** _"To be honest, I'm not really digging the song."_** A guy in grey said.

"Well fuck you too, ya little cu-" Murdoc swore.

"Murdoc!" Noodle pulled him up. "Come on, don't be a dick. Everyone's entitled to their own tastes." He grumbled in response.

 ** _"It looks like a horror film!"_** The blonde girl exclaimed.

"Heh, well that's the idea. We're all horror fans to an extent, love. Saying a video from us looks like a horror film is like saying a video from Daft Punk looks like a Sci-Fi." 2D grinned.

The video of Saturnz Barz came to an end, with the final lines from Murdoc and Russel. _"Breakfast?" "Oh Yeah! I got a real appetite."_

 ** _"What in the world?"_**

 ** _"That's so sick. It's Gorillaz, dude, I'm excited for their comeback!"_**

 ** _"I wish I was this creative. I write songs about breakups."_** A guy in a red flannel shirt said.

"Hey, there ain't nuffin wrong wiv that, man." 2D spoke. "I was in that position once when I was in my teens. Writin' silly songs about girls. But if yew just keep going and doing what yew love, you'll get better wiv time. There ain't much of a science to it. It's just something that'll come to you wiv life experience."

Noodle smiled. "Well said, D-chan." "Yeah man." Russel agreed.

"Well uh, hm. You did have my help, dullard. If it weren't for me you'd still be writing hack tunes." Murdoc bragged. The other two frowned. It was well known that Murdoc often took the writing credit from other band members, particularly 2D. The blue haired front man was famously ditzy, but he was far more lyrically talented than given credit for. Murdoc resented him for it. He wasn't a bad lyricist, but a was jealous he didn't even have half of 2D's poetic gift.

"Actually," Murdoc began, "Come to think of it, they seem to have missed the greatest part of the video."

"And which part was that?" Noodle asked him. Murdoc flamboyantly waved his hands and let his long tongue roll out of his mouth.

 ** _"THE BATH!"_** He bellowed.

"SHUT UP, MURDOC!" The three others yelled at him while he cackled. Not at all pretty image they had to remember.

The video next showed the visuals for two of the band's new songs, 'We Got the Power' and 'Andromeda'. But since they were shown quite short there was little to say, although the college kids seemed to like them.

 ** _"One of the greatest things that defines Gorillaz is that ironically, they aren't defined by a genre. They make so much different music and no song is alike."_** The guy in the yellow beanie in the video explained.

"Mad respect, man. This dude here knows what he's talking about." Russel smiled. The others nodded in agreement.

 _ **"Oh wow, I'm buying this album! When's it coming out?"** _ The brunette with red lipstick asked.

"April 28th, honey! Mark it down darlin', Huhuheh." Murdoc laughed that gravely laugh of his again. "Down, boy." Russel hushed Murdoc.

 ** _"Now here's a few more songs from earlier in their career."_** The interviewer in the video said.

"Alright, peeps. Let's see what the kids make of the classics, eh?" Murdoc grinned, clapping his hand together.

The video for 'Clint Eastwood' was showcased, the sound bringing back a whirl of nostalgia for the band members.

 _"I aint happy, I'm feeling glad, I got sunshine in a bag..."_ It was familiar to most of the young adults, and some started to even sing along.

"Holy shit, lads. It's been YEARS since I've actually seen this video." 2D gasped. "Geez, look how young we are! Hey, look at you, Noodle! Look at cha, yer such a little muffin!" 2D grinned at Noodle and affectionately nudged her rib. She smiled warmly back at him like he was a doting older brother. They didn't seem to interact much on camera or in interviews, but they had a sweet bond in reality.

 ** _"How many years has it been since this song was released?"_** The brunette in the video inquired.

"Jesus, about... 16 years?" 2D looked at others. "Yeah, yeah. It was 2001. 16 years... Wow." Russel said with awe.

"You were 11 Noodle, I was _23._ " 2D reminisced. "Yeeaaah... And _now_ Faceache, You're _39._ " Murdoc drawled, looking at 2D with a shit-eating grin. "How pray tell, does it feel?"

2D frowned, before shooting back a cocky look. "Welp, feels a lot better than bein' 50, ya old git." Murdoc laughed for once at 2D's jab at him. "Ah mate, If I weren't in such a good mood, I'd sock you for that one." 2D grinned back. It was rare for him and Murdoc to have these moments of friendly banter.

 ** _"This is giving me Cartoon Network vibes."_** The guy in grey said.

"It's funny he says that. We were supposed to have our own TV show, but it never got off the ground." Russel pointed out.

Del the Funky Homosapien's rap started in the video. Russel hung his head a bit in sadness for the loss of his dearly departed friend.

"Del. Oh Del. It's been years." Russel sighed mournfully. "You okay, Russ?" 2D asked him.

Russel nodded reassuringly. "Yeah, nah. Yeah don't worry, I'm fine. It's just- you know how it is." The others nodded sympathetically. Russel went through a rough patch after Del was exorcized from his mind, so it was understandable how he felt.

'Clint Eastwood' ended in the video. It was a song liked by pretty much everybody.

 ** _"Classic song. I totally know it, but can't think of the name."_**

 ** _"I like the gritty look of each character and the fact that they each have their own kind of personality."_**

"Well, in the late 90's and early 2000's, there wasn't much of a competition to have a personality in music." Murdoc bragged. "We turned the world upside down! Unlike those teeny bopper shits. They wouldn't have known what real personality was if it turned around and punched 'em in the teeth!"

The next music video showcased was 19-2000. Another video the band hadn't seen in a long time.

 _"The world is spinning too fast, and I'm buying Nike shoes, to keep myself tethered to the days I tried to lose..."_

 ** _"I want to know what they look like, instead of these little characters!"_** Two of the girls in the video said.

"Whatcha see is whatcha get, honey! This is us as we are!" Murdoc said proudly. Although he had a feeling this was going to go a in direction that he wasn't at all pleased about.

 ** _"Have they shown their faces on newer concerts?"_**

Murdoc scowled. This brought back an irritable memory. "Well, no. But that's cause the last time we went on tour, that backstabbing _bastard,_ Damon Albarn stole MY BAND! _IT'S MY BAND!_ " Murdoc stood up and started yelling. He was of course referring to the Plastic Beach tour. "We were holed up in the dressing room for _every show!_ All the bloody doors were jammed and we couldn't get out!"

Russel pulled Murdoc back down on the couch. "Take it easy, man."

Murdoc scoffed. "Oh, shut up Russ. You weren't _there!_ You can't speak for us. Right 2D?" 2D scratched his head. "Well uh, yeah. It was pretty unpleasant being stuck in the dressing room for every show with a grumpy old dick and a psychotic robot." 2D despised that artificial Cyborg that was modelled after Noodle, and was quite happy to hear that the real Noodle destroyed the damn thing.

The next video was 'DARE'. Noodle grinned.

 _"You've got to press it on you, you just think it, that's what you do, baby, hold it down, DARE..."_

"Ah, yes. One of my favourites." she said. "Only because you're the only one in it. You didn't even tell us you were filming it!" Murdoc said to her. Noodle grinned at him. Murdoc couldn't help but grin back. He couldn't stay mad at her.

 _ **"Oh my gosh! I know this song!"**_

 _ **"This is Gorillaz? I had no idea!"**_

Murdoc nodded his head to the beat. "Oh yeah, me mate Shaun Ryder was on this. He even let us borrow his head for the music video!"

 ** _"Turn the lights on and off real quick, so I can get into the mood."_** The girl with red lipstick swayed with the beat.

"Aw, she's cute. She my favourite!" 2D smiled. "Speak for yourself, 'D. I'm into the blonde. Hahahah." Murdoc laughed lecherously.

"Goddammit, you two! Keep it in your pants." Russel snapped at them. They laughed at his reaction.

 ** _"They did the DJ music before it was DJ music."_** The blonde girl said.

"Not exactly. The 80's and 90's were the golden age for the DJs. We just borrowed elements of it." Russel explained.

 _ **"I like that in the video they mixed the animation with a real life person."**_

"But wait, we are like, real life people." 2D said, confused. Murdoc shook his head. "Oh no. They're going to feed them the _lie._ I just know it."

 _ **"All right, come on, you got Feel Good Inc."**_ The guy in the red flannel shirt said.

 _"Windmill, windmill, for the land, turn forever hand in hand..."_

"Oh _yes_. The song that launched a million IPods!" Murdoc said.

"I mean, at the time it was overplayed, but I gotta say, I'm still really proud of that chorus, if I do say so myself." 2D nodded.

"And so you should be 'D." Noodle smiled at him. "This is one of your best performances." 2D blushed a little and smiled.

 ** _"Maybe the first song every Gorillaz fan has heard."_**

 ** _"This is like music you listen to driving down the highway, or next to the beach."_**

 ** _"I'm hearing a lot of similarities between their old music and their new music."_**

 ** _"That bass line is so funky!"_**

"I know right? Still such a fucking sexy tune after all these years." Murdoc chuckled. He wasn't known for modesty.

"I must say," Noodle chimed in. "Demon Days is my pride and joy. Despite all the mayhem that happened to us after, I'm still so proud of how the album turned out." The others agreed. Demon Days may very well have been their Magnum Opus. The video within in the video came to an end.

 _ **"Every song is so different, they have one that sounds like R &B and another that sounds like a poppy boy band."**_

"Don't know which one sounded like a boy band song." 2D said with a raised eyebrow.

 _ **"I'm gonna go and listen to them on Spotify now!"**_

 _ **"They're working with so many of my new favourite artists, so it's really sick to have Gorillaz who are so [BLEEP]ing awesome from when I was a kid, to now be even better."**_

"They _fucking_ censor the _fucking_ swearing? Well, that's _fucked_." Murdoc said, followed by a laugh.

"The point is, it's real gratifying to see kids who grew up with our music, now returning as adults to show support for the new music." Russel explained.

"Aaaand some of 'em have grown up to be _real_ lookers, Hwahahah- _OW,_ _RUSS!"_ Russel gave Murdoc a smack on the back of the head before he could continue. 2D and Noodle laughed. Murdoc could never help himself.

 _ **"So this is Gorillaz, who are well known for not being an actual band, but a virtual band."**_ The interviewer in the video explained to the college kids.

" _I knew it!_ " Murdoc started to yell at the screen. "I _knew_ they were going to feed them the lie! We are _real,_ dammit! It's just a conspiracy conjured up by those wankers Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett!"

 ** _"Is it like a Hatsune Miku kind of thing?"_** One of the kids asked.

"Noodle! What's a _Hatsune Miku_?" Murdoc barked, still fuming. "Oh well, it's uh. It's a thing created by Yamaha. A marketing thing to sell voice synthesizers." She explained.

 ** _"The band consists of two permanent members, one who does the music and one who does the visuals."_**

"Hewlett may have helped with the visuals over the years, but Damon takes the credit for _MY work._ It's _MY BAND!_ " Murdoc exclaimed.

"Chill down a bit, Murdoc." 2D said. "You of all people should be more angry, Faceache! Albarn takes all the credit for _your_ vocals!" Murdoc informed him.

"What? Yew serious!?" 2D frowned. "The fuckin' bastard..."

 _ **"The reason they created the band was to comment on the lack of substance in popular music."**_

"Now there's some truth in that." Russel said. "The landscape of popular music at the time was so devoid of soul."

Murdoc agreed. "Yeah, too right mate. From hangers on of the already dead Grunge period like Creed and Limp Bizkit... Ugggh, to dime-a-dozen manufactured groups like Five or S Club 7. 2D actually used to screw one of the birds from that lot."

"Oy, what does that have to do with anythin'? You're the one that fucked that up for me Mudz." 2D frowned at him.

 _ **"That's so amazing! That's like a true artist."**_

 _ **"I love it! There's like, mystery behind it."**_

 _ **"That's so innovative."**_

 _ **"It forces the audience to focus more on the music instead of like, "I like this song because it's Nicki Minaj". It makes you focus on whether you truly like the song or not."**_

"It's good to see that the attitude of thinking for yourself is alive and well." Noodle said. "I've never lost hope for my generation in the artistic standpoint."

 ** _"The Chainsmokers are two guys but have new artists come in and help them with their songs. It feels like that's what they're doing."_**

"Who the bloody hell are the Chainsmokers?" 2D asked. "No idea" Murdoc shook his head. "Me neither" said Russel. "An electronic duo." Noodle said. "They're not anything special."

 ** _"So coming in April, Gorillaz will be releasing their first full album since 2011."_**

"That's right. Album drops April the 28th." Russel grinned.

 _ **"Are you going to check it out when it gets released?"**_ The interviewer asked the young adults.

 _ **"Hell yeah, they're one of my all-time favourite bands."**_

 _ **"Yeah! They've had so many hits.**_ _ **"**_

 _ **"Now that I know more about them, yeah."**_

 _ **"Hell yes! I'm going down to my local music shop, gonna pick up the album, and that's getting played for a month straight."**_

And with that, the video of the College kids reacting to Gorillaz concluded.

* * *

The manager for their channel cleared their throat to gain the band's attention. "So... Do you guys have any final thoughts on this? The kids from the vid may very well watch this one."

"Right, well. I'll go first then, kiddos." Murdoc spoke up before anyone else had the time to talk. "Even if though they were fed the _lie_ that we don't talk about, in all sincerity it was good to see the new stuff gaining attention. And I was honestly shocked that so many of them knew who we were. I assumed the young people had mostly just forgotten about us and moved on to the next big flash in the pan. But nope, sometimes the kiddy winks really do surprise you with how turned on they really are. So uh, thanks for the support and... one more thing: _IT'S MY BAND!_ And don't any of you forget it."

"Ahem," Noodle started. "I'm sure I'm not much older than these people, but it makes me happy to see such other open-minded individuals. I appreciate the passion from some and the curiosity from others. It's was also kind of fun to get a bit of a blast from the past. Some of that stuff I hadn't seen in years. I hope we get see at least some of you when we go on tour!" She smiled.

Russel's turn. "Well, I've said many times before, but it's always going to be the young people who are the most open-minded, while simultaneously being the most misunderstood. It's very easy to write off young people as a shallow, collective stereotype of kids who only follow the trends, and what the media tells them to do. But that's just what the media want you to believe. Not just young people, but even young kids are smarter than you think. Don't write off what they say just because of their age."

"Got a bit deep there, Russ." Murdoc said.

The band then turn to 2D, fiddling with a cigarette. "Wot? Oh yeah, guess it's my turn." he thought about what to say for a moment, before sharing his thoughts.

"Well, I have to say seein' this video was uhh... heartwarming. Yeah, that's a good word for it. Some of these people would've been very lil' kids when the first album dropped. Hell, I know there's some fans that weren't even born when it came out. But to see that so many people have stuck with us for so long, that's incredible. To say to all of the fans, yew've all grown up to be such smart, thoughtful, compassionate, creative and even handsome or beautiful young adults. And that's something to be proud of yerselfs for. If anyone has big aspirations for anything, like not just music, yew've just gotta stay strong and keep working to achieve what you wish for. If yew've got the passion, the world will beat a path to your door... Or drive a car through a store window and knock you out catatonic, as well as both yer eyes, but that may just be me."

That was... more meaningful than they expected. Noodle clapped for 2D. Russel grinned proudly while Murdoc game a small smile. "Ehh, Not bad, Mr Stu-Pot. Not bad."

"All right guys, I think that's a wra-" The manager froze.

"What's wrong?" Asked Murdoc. They turned to face the band nervously.

"I uhh... I think I pressed the wrong button... I forgot to press record on the camera. We'll have to record this reaction again."

 ** _"WHAT!?"_** The four yelped.

They sacked their Youtube manager the next day.


End file.
